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Is Trump's Victory A Win For China? Ep185: Professor Qi Ye
Is China's lead in clean technologies insurmountable? How will the Trump presidency shape relations with China? And when will China's emiss…
Nov. 13, 2024
Is Trump's Victory A Win For China? Ep185: Professor Qi Ye
Is China's lead in clean technologies insurmountable? How will the Trump presidency shape relations with China? And when will China's emissions peak?
Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, has said that 'almost every energy story is essentially a China story. But it's a complicated story that has been powered by vast supplies of coal. China's economy has grown rapidly, with per capita levels of energy consumption now matching Europe's, making it the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses.
At the same time, China has increased the share of electricity and total energy to around 28% thanks to a rapid uptake of electric vehicles and increasing use of electricity for heating domestically. If it continues on its current trajectory, it is likely to peak its greenhouse gas emissions from energy in the next few years, if it hasn't done so already. China is also playing an increasing role beyond its borders: In 2023, 20% of the global EV export market belong to China, and it dominates the battery, solar and wind industries.
This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Professor Qi Ye, Director of Public Policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, who's had a ringside seat during China's rapid shift towards a clean energy economy. Together they unpack the complex dynamics shaping the global energy transition in China. Discover the remarkable scale and pace of China's clean energy transformation, the challenges of international collaboration, and Professor Qi's vision for a new era of climate leadership.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit cleaningup.live.
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Bryony Worthington
Co-Director / Quadrature Climate Foundation
Baroness Bryony Worthington is a Crossbench member of the House of Lords, who has spent her career working on conservation, energy and climate change issues.
Bryony was appointed as a Life Peer in 2011. Her current roles include co-chairing the cross-party caucus Peers for the Planet in the House of Lords and Co-Director of the Quadrature Climate Foundation.
Her opus magnum is the 2008 Climate Change Act which she wrote as the lead author. She piloted the efforts on this landmark legislation – from the Friends of the Earth’s ‘Big Ask’ campaign all the way through to the parliamentary works. This crucial legislation requires the UK to reduce its carbon emissions to a level of 80% lower than its 1990 emissions.
She founded the NGO Sandbag in 2008, now called Ember. It uses data insights to advocate for a swift transition to clean energy. Between 2016 and 2019 she was the executive director for Europe of the Environmental Defence. Prior to that she worked with numerous environmental NGOs.
Baroness Bryony Worthington read English Literature at Cambridge University
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